In His Word I Hope

As I grow older, it seems like I sin more when I should be sinning less. I don’t think I am really sinning more (at least I hope not), but rather that I am more aware of my sin than when I was younger in my faith. As I grow in my understanding of God and His Word, I grow in recognizing my sin, its impact, and its consequences.

There is one instance that stands out in my mind. Initially, I tried to justify my sinful response, but thankfully the Holy Spirit kept convicting me. It hit me how I had grieved God with my words and actions. I had hurt others. I had contributed to disunity. I had not been an ambassador for Christ in that sinful moment. I felt broken and overwhelmed by my sin, but praise God that His mercy, grace, and forgiveness always vastly surpass our sin. We can never sin so greatly that it is beyond the reach of God’s redeeming grace.

You may be thinking, “Sin? I don’t need to hear this,” but we all sin and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23) even after we come to saving faith. We all need to be reminded and encouraged by the good news of God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness because we tend to minimize our sin or be overwhelmed by it. Psalm 130 is the psalm we need to hear.

A Song of Ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

2 O Lord, hear my voice!

Let Your ears be attentive

to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

4 But with You there is forgiveness,

that You may be feared.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in His word I hope;

6 my soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen for the morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!

For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with Him is plentiful redemption.

8 And He will redeem Israel

from all his iniquities. [1]

First, this psalm is one of the Songs of Ascents – songs likely sung by Jewish pilgrims traveling up to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. At first, I thought this was not the type of song I would choose for a long journey across the desert as it starts out gloomy but consider trying to worship God when you are harboring unrepentant sin. Once we are saved, nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39), but sin does hinder our fellowship with God. Sin and worship of God cannot co-exist. A time of confession and repentance is a perfect way to prepare for worship. As we will see, Biblical confession doesn’t leave us overwhelmed by our sin, but leads us into awe-filled worship of God.

Second, we don’t know if there was more to the psalmist’s cry for help, but we do know that it included sin (vs 3, 4, 7, 8).

“Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord!” (vs 1) – the word for depths symbolizes deep waters. The psalmist is in the depths of despair. He cries out to God when his situation seems hopeless. He uses the name Lord or Yahweh in verse 1. This is the covenant name for God used with Israel. Yahweh is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This name brings to remembrance God’s faithfulness. It also expresses God’s self-existence and eternality. The psalmist knew to whom he cried to for help.

“O Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!” (vs 2) –the psalmist uses the name Adonai for God. Adonai is translated Lord or Master. The psalmist knew to whom he belonged. He pleads with God to hear him and extend mercy. He pleaded with hope knowing that God does listen, and He is merciful.

I waited patiently for the Lord;

He inclined to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 40:1

I sought the Lord, and He answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:4

The Lord passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”

Exodus 34:6

“If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (vs 3) – the psalmist again uses both Yahweh and Adonai in addressing God. We don’t usually think of the meaning behind a name when we say the name, but the Israelites did. Meanings of names were important especially when it came to the names of God. They reflected God’s character. The psalmist had no fear of confessing, repenting, and pleading with God for help because He knew God personally.

The psalmist knows that before holy God, no one can stand. The phrase “who could stand” is a judicial phrase for being justified or absolved of guilt. We can never be justified on our own. We can never be absolved of guilt by our own merit. It is only by faith in Jesus’ atoning work on the cross that we are justified. By Jesus’ blood, we are made just as if we had never sinned, and just as if we had always obeyed. Our hope in God’s help rests on His mercy alone not on our goodness.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! [2]

“But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared” (vs 4) – God’s forgiveness restores our relationship with Him. And forgiveness leads us to fearing God. We walk in obedience out of gratitude and awe of who God is and what He has done.

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning” (vs 5-6) – although we experience immediate deliverance from sin’s guilt, we may still have to wait through the consequences of sin. My situation I mentioned earlier took time to restore the relationships affected by sin, but like the psalmist, I hoped in God’s word. God’s word in context is who He is (vs 7-8). We hope because we know God is faithful, He keeps His promises, with Him is steadfast love, He is merciful and forgiving, and He is redeemer. We don’t wait passively. We wait with active hope. We meditate on who God is and what He has done. We wait expectant for what He will do.

In verse 6, the psalmist amplifies this idea of waiting by repeating not only that his soul waits, but repeating the description, “more than watchmen for the morning.” Watchmen were to stay awake and alert. Some watchmen guarded the city, constantly scanning for intruders. Here the watchmen are waiting for the morning. We can look forward with hope to the final “morning” when all things will be made new. No more sin. No guilt of sin. No consequences of sin. God will complete the work He began in us (Philippians 1:6).

“O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (vs 7-8) – the psalmist encouraged by the hope found in God for his own sin, now turns to exhort Israel. He reminds them of God’s steadfast love and plentiful redemption. I love that word plentiful. As we mentioned before, we can never sin so greatly that it is beyond the reach of God’s redeeming grace. This is underscored in verse 8 by “from all his iniquities” (emphasis added).

“Perhaps the word is used here and elsewhere to refer to this whole complex of ideas: sin and guilt and misery. The word “all” (NLT, “every”) fits with the idea, and the Bible clearly teaches elsewhere that God saves people from the guilt of sin and from its misery. Could an overflowing supply of salvation arising from the unfailing love of God do less? Never.” [3]

Notice, too, the psalmist’s use of the word will (vs 8). He is expressing his confidence in God to act which stems from knowing who God is and what He has already done and promised. The psalmist’s last words take us back to verse 5, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope.”

“In this Psalm we hear of the pearl of redemption, verses 7 and 8: perhaps the sweet singer would never have found that precious thing had he not been cast into the depths. ‘Pearls lie deep.’” (Spurgeon) [4]

Reflection

1. When have you felt the weight of your sin? Did you turn with hope to God or try to justify or ignore your sin?

2. When you think of “in His word I hope” and “hope in the Lord,” what specifically gives you hope as you confess your sin (i.e., specific attributes of God or specific things He has done)?

3. Spend time confessing your sin, and let that lead you to awe-filled, grateful worship of God.

4. I Will Wait For You (Psalm 130) by Shane and Shane goes with this psalm.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 130:title–8. [2] Spafford, Horatio. “It Is Well With My Soul.” 1873. [3] Mark D. Futato, “The Book of Psalms,” in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 7: The Book of Psalms, The Book of Proverbs (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2009), 394. [4] David Guzik, Psalms, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Ps 130:1–2.